HYDERABAD: The second Bharat Summit in Hyderabad comes at a time of shifting political equations across the world, following electoral victories for left-of-centre forces in Brazil and the United States, a change of government in Hungary and a breakthrough by an anti-government movement in Serbia.
The two-day summit, to be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Novotel Hotel, on November 13 and 14, will bring together nearly 1,000 delegates from India and about 70 countries. Officials describe it as the first major international gathering of progressive leaders following these electoral developments.
Policymakers, political party leaders, thinkers and changemakers from India and abroad are expected to attend the gathering to discuss a range of issues concerning the future of the world and formulate policy alternatives.
The summit is being held to mark the 80th year of India’s Independence and the 137th birth anniversary of the country’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Its programme will include a plenary, international panels, Telangana-focused discussions, an expo and a valedictory session.
Officials describe the summit as a flagship gathering bringing together voices from the Global South and the Global North. It seeks to draw on the legacy of Afro-Asian solidarity and the Non-Aligned Movement, a tradition India helped shape and which, they argue, holds relevance for the contemporary world.
Delegates include ministers, former ministers, parliamentarians, senators and intellectuals from the Netherlands, Portugal, Indonesia, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Korea, Brazil, Japan, Thailand, the US and the EU, among others. Pascal Affi N’Guessan of Cote d’Ivoire is among those expected to attend.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will address the valedictory session on November 14. He will speak on his vision for India and the world, outlining an alternative approach to India’s foreign policy based on principled multilateralism, strategic autonomy, peaceful coexistence and democratic values.
Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Shashi Tharoor, Salman Khurshid, Sachin Pilot, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Supriya Shrinate, Manish Tewari, Pawan Khera, S Jothimani, Prof Rajeev Gowda, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Gurdeep Singh Sappal will moderate international panels.
Discussions will cover subjects such as “AI, Cloud Capitalism and the New World Order”, “A New Economic Deal for the World”, “Youth and Politics of Tomorrow”, “South-South Cooperation in a New World Order”, “Climate Change”, “Reform of Multilateral Institutions”, “Gender Justice and a Feminist Future”, “Progressivism and Accountability”, “Innovative Ideas of Progressives”, “The New World Order” and “Future of Media”.
Nine sessions on Telangana Rising will also be held as part of the summit. The discussions will cover “Future City and Urbanisation”, “Economic Justice”, “Social Justice”, “Welfare Policies”, “Cooperative Federalism”, “Culture and Society”, “Youth, Sports and Politics” and “Electoral Integrity - Telangana and India”.
The sessions will be addressed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, IT Minister D Sridhar Babu, and ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar and Mohammed Azharuddin, along with intellectuals and policymakers.